Chapter 295: End of Small Business Tour
During the day, I advanced to help Laila, Dianne and Neia and went to bed at night in Catalina. Naris, Sharon and 100-man commander Becker, also came out and helped everyone with the carpentry work and as a result, the last hut was completed by the evening of the third day.
“Ho. I knew there was a difference between with or without manpower”
“It’s easy to get caught up in the heavy lifting of building, but when it comes to the time-consuming parts, it’s more about the number of hands than the strength of arms. ……I’m impressed by the fact that ogre carpenters are several times more efficient at building than humans, even after taking that into account”
“Laila-san and 100-man commander Dianne were insomniacs. I fell asleep several times on the way……”
“Ho. It’s good that you can sleep anywhere, but don’t sleep on the snow anymore. When I found you, I wondered if you were dead”
“I’m sorry……”
It seems that Neia had caused a slight disturbance, but anyway, the work was finished smoothly. I don’t know how many of the buildings we built this time will survive and become a bridgehead to the Kalwin Kingdom. But if all goes well, it will not only become an important lodging place for the nations to interact with each other, but also an effective scouting base for Renfangas. Eventually, the technology of the modern labyrinth developed in the south will be used and this place may be revived as an inhabited land again as early as in my lifetime. It’s a grand story and I won’t be around for that long, but I’m proud to be a part of the first step.
“Now, we’re done. ……I don’t suppose any of you are unpacking with the intention of staying long. We’ll return to Polka at dawn”
“Understood”
Under the command of Dianne, everyone helped clean up the tools and board the carriage brought by Maia. In the midst of all this, only Neia continues to stare at the northern sky.
“What’s wrong, Neia? ……No way, did you feel something bad again?”
“That’s not the case. ……I was wondering how far away Kalwin was”
“Ah……”
Neia isn’t in a hurry, but she was still anxious to see where the work was going.
“One more day away……will you fly home if you are told that?”
“……I wonder”
At my question, Neia pulled her hat down a little and hid her eyes.
“To be honest, just a little bit……I hope it’s a little further away……”
“?”
The answer came back a little unexpectedly.
“It’s a spoiled story. ……Just a little. Maybe I……want to be a dangling Neia a little more”
“……Not hero?”
“Forget it. ……It’s just a quirk of the imagination. The sooner the better, of course”
Neia smiles. For some reason that smile felt false to me.
————————————
“I’m so tired. Mou, I´m glad that Tetes-chan also came and worked”
“Ahahaha. I’m sorry, I’ve never done anything like that before”
“Kuu, that’s how you grow up as a young lady. ……I mean, there’s a real princess over there! She was hammering nails and sawing like crazy today, Knight Chief Sharon!
“It’s a wisdom of the age”
“That’s easy for you to say!”
“I’ve been out of my hometown for decades, if not twenty like Tetes. I’ve had the opportunity to imitate a carpenter”
The Renfangas group was getting excited in a really unimportant way. I also noticed that Sharon was surprisingly adept at carpentry. Aside from nailing, but sawing is harder than it looks.
“I wonder if I should have gone and helped……”
Almeida looked a little uncomfortable.
“Without you here, only Tetes and Apple are in Catalina. ……The Ace Knight Corps are a little glaring and I´m worried, so I’m glad you were here”
“I, Is that so
A relieved face. Almeida is easy to understand because her ears are bent and her relief is honest. In fact, unlike Selenium, Apple wasn’t likely to escape in the face of anything and having a dependable Almeida nearby would have saved her a lot.
“Tte, oh, Apple is?”
If I look closely, I can’t find Apple in the girls’ room where they are packing up. I was a little disconcerted, just after I had satisfied myself that I had been paying attention.
“Apple was in the kitchen earlier”
Maia tells me.
“Do you know where she is now?”
I ask, hoping that Maia’s senses might be able to figure it out.
“I’m not sure. Do you want me……to go to look for her?”
“……If you can”
“Yeah”
Maia trotted to the exit……stopping just short of the door.
“……Smells good”
Then, right in front of Maia, the door opens before she can touch it.
“Hey everyone, Madeleine is……kyaa”
It was Apple who came in. She holds a large tray and Maia is in front of her, but she doesn’t seem to notice her for a moment and she loses her balance the moment she notices Maia´s existence. A lot of madeleines floating fluffily in the air. The next moment, all the girls……that is, everyone in this room except me, moved at once.
“Haa!”
“Do you want to drop it!”
“Hoo!”
“Whoa!”
They rushed to the doorway at once. Each of them collides with the other and catches all the madeleines with their dozen or so hands. ……Apple and I are stunned.
“Oh……”
“W, Wonderful……”
Even Naris and Aurora, who aren’t as fast as they should be, have successfully entered the fray. The girl’s responsiveness to sweets was brilliantly shown, including Neia, who has a single hat and Laila, who uses magic to stop them in the air. And.
“Oh, that was a close one, be careful♪”
For some reason, one Madeleine floating in the air, Great Knight Chief Annette, who seems to have been the first to pull from behind, laughs with a smirk while eating.
“Ah! Why is the Great Knight Chief eating!”
“Nowaa! Tetes-chan collapses without moving a little!!”
“Eh, because I was promised to have one, it’s okay, because there are so many. Ah, this is good, another one”
“Not good!”
“What wicked sister. You’re so stingy”
“It’s Sharon! Please refrain from calling me that disgraceful name!”
I wonder if she’ll be involved until the end of this stay……I mean, is there enough for me.
————————————–
The next day.
“I’ll leave the rest to you, Kingfisher. Reverse……10-man captain Wrigley, I want you to do your best, too”
“I understand”
“Confirmed”
In the meadow……in front of Catalina, which is now a snowfield, we said goodbye to Catalina again.
“We’ll be back soon”
Dianne smiles at the Celesta-style saluting Ace Knights and gets into the carriage we’re waiting for.
“Hey, General! That, come, those cuties will come again?”
“10-man captain Anzeros was so cute”
“Idiot, 10-man captain Aurora was more beautiful”
“……I’ve never seen the dancing spear up close before, but I didn’t know she was that sexy”
The Ace Knight Corps outside was making a lot of noise around General Kingfisher. While listening to their voices, 100-man commander Becker is bogged down.
“……I wonder what would happen if they found out that someone had been staying in the bedrooms of these beautiful women every night”
“Seriously, please don’t do this”
No, staying in the girls’ room became so commonplace that I completely forgot about 100-man commander Becker.
“……You’ve been doing that?”
“Ho. I guess I should have come back at least for the night then”
“Andy. ……I’m not saying don’t do it, but be modest outside of Polka”
The three who didn’t seem to know that fact also poked fun at me and I became a little smaller. And when I see the window where the carriage held by Maia gradually rises in altitude.
“Ah……”
The familiar faces of Catalina’s residents are all waving at us. Mayor, butcher, workshop dwarf, communication magician. Great Knight Chief Annette is also there.
“Although it has become an annual event, I’m happy about this”
Anzeros said and waved back. I was going to wave back, but the window was too far away, so I opened the coachman’s stand and waved from there.
“Hey……tte, wawaa”
My hand slipped and I almost slipped out. However, my body stops suddenly.
“Hey hey, don’t fall”
Looking back, 100-man commander Becker was hooking a grappling hook on my belt. ……I was both grateful and scared.
“Good shot. ……Great Knight Chief, I´ll come again!”
“Say hello to Lord Buster!”
Tetes and Naris waving their hands out of the coachman’s stand by piggybacking on my body supported by the grappling hook.
“TTe, you guys are getting carried away! You can’t put that much weight on me”
Somehow a strange feeling is transmitted from the waist……h, hey hey.
“Ah, Smithson, I’m sorry”
“!?”
I’m going to tear your belt. It’s originally designed for climbing walls, so it’s a little sharp”
“100-man commander!?”
There’s a cracking sound and the three of us almost fall out.
“Uwaaaa!!”
“Hyawaa!?”
“Ahahahaha”
……Tetes had a lifeline installed beforehand and it was only me and Naris who were really scared. If I´m about to fall, maybe Laila or Dianne will do something about it, but it’s pretty bad for my heart.
——————————————-
We arrived at the snowfield on the outskirts of Polka while the sun was still high in the sky.
“Oh dear. I’ve only been out for about a week, but it’s a relief to be back here”
Anzeros smiled as she rolled her shoulders.
“You’re like a local now, aren’t you?”
“I wonder if that will happen soon”
“?”
“Andy, you’re going to live here, aren’t you? Then I’ll have to live here, too”
“Ah……well, that’s right”
“That’s weird”
I wondered if the royal capital and Celesta had some regrets, but there seems to be no doubt that Anzeros will become a citizen of Polka.
“Speaking of which, I believe Irina and the others have started preparing Andy’s new home”
“Ho. My new home. It’s not bad to see it in the making”
“Selen and I will be able to have children in peace with our new home”
“Apple-san, you’re not pregnant yet, are you?”
“Th, That’s right, but……I’m not on birth control and it could happen at any time”
“I’m jealous. Hey, Almeida”
“……Well, that……sure, contraception is barren”
I don’t think that’s a natural topic of conversation, guys.
“……Ladies. How about a naked story even though there are I and the hero here who are outsiders?”
“Ahaha…….”
Sure enough, 100-man commander Becker and Neia, who had trouble responding, are laughing bitterly. Meanwhile, only Maia, who returned to her human form a little later and joined the group, is staring at Polka without joining the topic.
“I’m not sure what happened to Luna, Hilda and the others”
“……Ah”
It was. I left it to professional Hilda, but I don’t care if I’m worried.
“Good. Shall we go see?”
“Yes”
I stroked Maia’s head and started walking to the city with her. Everyone naturally made progress.
“I’m home”
“Ou, welcome back
When I returned to the inn, I saw the peaceful face of Keiron playing cards with the Masturbation Brothers.
“Where is 100-man commander Dianne? And welcome back to Anzeros and Aurora”
“Dianne went to Irina. Where are Hilda and Luna?”
“Eh? They’re at the cat mansion”
“Cat mansion?”
“Ah, the other day you guys brought in a bunch of cat beasts from the south, right? About half of them are sleeping there, so there’s a house called the Cat Mansion these days”
“Where is it?”
“Emm……I think it’s just west of the clothing store, a little ways down the street, it’s pretty noisy”
Keiron tells me as he cuts the card. As with Anzeros, his familiarity with the city is amazing.
“……You’re getting more familiar with the situation in the city”
“This is because when you’re at Keel´s home the steamed bun shop, the kids and wives are constantly gossiping”
“……I see”
It may only be a matter of time before he comes to live in the city apart from us.
Then, when I and Maia went looking for the 「Cat Mansion」, it was certainly relatively easy to find. Or rather, there were cat ladies playing in the garden with the children of the city.
“Nyaa!! C, Cold!!”
“You can’t beat me on dirt!!”
“Haahaa! It’s a hundred years too early for a desert-born to try to beat a Polka-dot in a snowball fight!”
“Fast!”
It was fun to see grown-up cat girls being tossed around by kids in a snowball fight, but that’s about it.
“Hey, is Hilda-san there?”
When I called out to them, the cat girls looked at me with their ears up and their eyes startled.
“Nyaa!?”
“Emm……Master!!!”
“What do you mean with master……”
I was baffled by the inexplicable way they called me.
“Is it wrong?”
“I’m Andy Smithson. Some people may call it weird, but I’m not your master”
“Uuh?”
“Nnn?”
The cat girls feel that something difficult has been said. ……I mean, they weren’t the Maple family or Luna, maybe they were some of those wounded or sick, but there’s no evidence of that. It seems that Hilda-san’s skill is already being shaken without regret.
“More than that, do you know Hilda-san?”
“She’s inside”
They led me into the 「Cat Mansion」.
“Oh, you’re early, Andy-kun☆”
Hilda-san was in the process of treating one of the cat girls. There were about ten cat girls in the house, all staring at us, sudden visitors, but they were not hostile. They just didn’t know how to talk to me.
“How are you feeling?”
“Hmmm. The sick children are improving as I expected. Maybe in another ten days, all of them will be able to be called healthy. The injured ones, however, can be treated……”
“Is it difficult?”
“As you can imagine, for those without limbs……I’ve removed as many scars as I could”
After all, it seems that there are some fields that are difficult to treat even with a miraculous spring.
“It’s okay. The pain that plagued me for so many years is almost gone and I can’t afford to be extravagant”
The child who had just received the treatment shook her head in a healthy manner. The girl was missing her legs. One leg was missing from the knee, the other from the ankle.
“I’m trying to see if I can loosen the fixation of the wound and direct the healing power of the miraculous spring toward regeneration. ……It’s not going well. It would be nice if we could control the power of the miraculous spring as well”
Hilda sighs. ……Hmm?
“The direction of regeneration……?”
“Yes. As a mechanism of the human body, the direction of regeneration is to close the wounds received for the sake of survival……”
“Wait a minute”
Wait a minute. ……The body. The direction of regeneration. You can manipulate the direction of regeneration.
“……Naa”
“Y, Yes?”
I grab the legless cat girl by the shoulders.
“What’s your name?”
“Ma, Marone……Marone Plum”
“Will you accompany me for a moment? ……It may hurt, but maybe those legs……may be cured”
What I had in my mind was Breakcore. ……Maybe.